Genitourinary tumors consist of a large variety of malignancies located in the urinary and the reproductive systems, mainly including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and renal tumors. Apart from surgeries, various systemic treatments have been used for the whole-course management of genitourinary tumors, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. However, the characteristics of progression, metastasis, and drug resistance deriving from tumors require and breed novel treatments. Furthermore, exploring biomarkers of genitourinary tumors at the early stage is also beneficial to strengthen the management of patients with tumors. Additionally, the diagnostic and prognostic value of the potential biomarkers for immunotherapy and combined therapy of genitourinary tumors are underexplored. On the basis of precision treatments, the advent of immune-based therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs, antibodies targeting PD-L1 /PD-1 and CTLA-4 pathways), tumor vaccines, and other therapies, has extended the scope of treatment modalities. FDA has until now approved the clinical application of immune checkpoint inhibitors in a wide range of diseases including some types of genitourinary tumors, whereas not all patients with genitourinary tumors are suitable for immune-based therapies, therefore, the understanding of its underlying mechanism is key to develop effective treatments based on current ICI-based immunotherapy.

This book systematically reviews the most important findings on cancer immune checkpoints, sharing essential insights into this rapidly evolving yet largely unexplored research topic. The past decade has seen major advances in cancer immune checkpoint therapy, which has demonstrated impressive clinical benefits. The family of checkpoints for mediating cancer immune evasion now includes CTLA-4, PD-1/PD-L1, CD27/CD70, FGL-1/LAG-3, Siglec-15, VISTA (PD-1L)/VSIG3, CD47/SIRPA, APOE/LILRB4, TIGIT, and many others. Despite these strides, most patients do not show lasting remission, and some cancers have been completely resistant to the therapy. The potentially lethal adverse effects of checkpoint blockade represent another major challenge, the mechanisms of which remain poorly understood. Compared to the cancer signaling pathways, such as p53 and Ras, mechanistic studies on immune checkpoint pathways are still in their infancy. To improve the responses to checkpoint blockade therapy and limit the adverse effects, it is essential to understand the molecular regulation of checkpoint molecules in both malignant and healthy cells/tissues. This book begins with an introduction to immune checkpoint therapy and its challenges, and subsequently describes the regulation of checkpoints at different levels. In closing, it discusses recent therapeutic developments based on mechanistic findings, and outlines goals for future translational studies. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers in the cancer immunotherapy field, helping to form a roadmap for checkpoint regulation and develop safer and more effective immunotherapies.

Revealing essential roles of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research on the tumor microenvironment in over thirty human organs, including the parathyroid gland, heart, intestine, testicles, and more. Taken alongside its companion volumes, these books update us on what we know about the different aspects of the tumor microenvironments in distinct organs as well as future directions. Tumor Microenvironments in Organs: From the Brain to the Skin – Part A is essential reading for advanced cell biology and cancer biology students as well as researchers seeking an update on research in the tumor microenvironment.

Kidney Cancer: Principles and Practice is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary textbook that encompasses all clinically relevant aspects of the disease. This new edition has been extensively updated and includes brand new material covering the most recent developments in kidney cancer diagnosis and therapy. The user-friendly and clinically oriented content of the book guarantees that it will be of great interest to a wide range of medical professionals, and every effort has been made to ensure that contributions are both easy to understand and directly related to patient care. Content presentation departs from the usual dense chapter format featuring a lengthy series of paragraphs. Instead, each chapter contains several boxed sections, including one that summarizes essential "take home points" for the busy clinician and another that presents a patient-oriented case highlighting the clinical application of elements discussed in that chapter. In addition, accessible original images, illustrations, and diagrams (some in full color) are used to simplify particularly complex material. This book will be of value for clinicians, researchers, residents, fellows, students, and knowledgeable lay people. The contributors comprise an international group of authors with expertise in kidney cancer epidemiology, molecular biology, pathology, diagnosis, clinical features, staging, prognostic and predictive factors, surgery, systemic therapy, and emerging investigational approaches, among others.

Part 1: Intratumoral Signatures Associated With Immune Responsiveness

Companion and Complementary Diagnostics: From Biomarker Discovery to Clinical Implementation provides readers with in-depth insights into the individual steps in the development of companion diagnostic assays, from the early biomarker discovery phase straight through to final regulatory approval. Further, the clinical implementation of companion diagnostic testing in the clinic is also discussed. As the development of predictive or selective biomarker assays linked to specific drugs is substantially increasing, this book offers comprehensive information on this quickly-evolving area of biomedicine. It is an essential resource for those in academic institutions, hospitals and pharma, and biotech and diagnostic commercial companies. - Covers all aspects, from biomarker discovery, to development and regulatory approval - Explains the "how to" aspects of companion diagnostics - Incorporates information on the entire process, allowing for easier and deeper understanding of the topic

The field of Molecular Diagnostics is rapidly evolving and molecular characterization of neoplasms is becoming an increasingly important part of the pathologic work up and diagnosis of many tumor types. This work provides a high-yield reference book that compiles critical information related to molecular biomarkers for various solid tumor and hematologic malignancy subtypes. It is succinct yet comprehensive enough to be suitable for fellows in training and medical professionals with an interest in molecular pathology and biomarkers. The book covers many aspects of molecular diagnostics, from techniques to applications and comprehensive summaries of the current molecular biomarkers of critical importance in solid and liquid tumors. Attention is also specifi cally devoted to bioinformatics and next generation sequencing, as well as pre-analytical issues that must be considered for accurate interpretation of molecular results in the context of overall patient care. This text focuses on clinical utility and validity and serves as an “owner’s manual” in Genomic Diagnostics for the practicing pathologist, pathology fellows and residents and other health care providers. Physicians will find this book invaluable as a quick reference for current molecular testing modalities and guidelines, tumor board preparation, deciding which test to order and interpreting genomic laboratory results. In addition, it is an accessible for trainees as a board review preparation reference.